Thursday April 28th, 2016 Psalm 67
May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us. (verse 1)
Our highlighted verse from Psalm 67 (and really you should take time to read the whole psalm) echoes the words we hear many Sundays as the benediction concludes our worship service. Benediction means to speak well to someone. That’s what a blessing is all about.
The psalm presents a strong call for God’s saving power to be known to all peoples and among all nations. It calls upon the nations to be glad and sing for joy, for all peoples to praise God.
There’s something quite amazing about the psalm. Israel was surrounded by many other nations, many of them hostile, and was often at war with her neighbours. This psalm, rather than arousing fear and calling for destruction of enemies, resounds with a call for all peoples to come together in praise of the one God above all gods. May we have that same generosity of spirit toward all peoples.
In these Sundays of Easter we have celebrated God’s salvation for the whole world in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, a blessing meant for all people. God’s benediction is too valuable to be hoarded just for ourselves. It is meant to be shared.
Grant to all of us, O Lord, your blessing, that we may be glad and sing for joy. Amen. — JG
Contributed by The Lord Bless You
Our highlighted verse from Psalm 67 (and really you should take time to read the whole psalm) echoes the words we hear many Sundays as the benediction concludes our worship service. Benediction means to speak well to someone. That's what a blessing is all about.
The psalm presents a strong call for God's saving power to be known to all peoples and among all nations. It calls upon the nations to be glad and sing for joy, for all peoples to praise God.
There's something quite amazing about the psalm. Israel was surrounded by many other nations, many of them hostile, and was often at war with her neighbours. This psalm, rather than arousing fear and calling for destruction of enemies, resounds with a call for all peoples to come together in praise of the one God above all gods. May we have that same generosity of spirit toward all peoples.
In these Sundays of Easter we have celebrated God's salvation for the whole world in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, a blessing meant for all people. God's benediction is too valuable to be hoarded just for ourselves. It is meant to be shared.
